Vic is back!

[vilakins]

Vic is home, and without a collar! They kept him in overnight to see if his nose would worry him (and vice versa), but he was fine. They said he'd eaten but he enjoyed some soft food and is looking very happy to be here in the sun. I'm so glad he didn't have to wear a collar; there was a sweet little cat in one there and her owner said her had to take it off to let her eat, and that because she couldn't use her whiskers, she kept misjudging distances. Vic would not have coped well.

He's such a laid-back cat normally, it's odd how very stressed he gets. He cost us an extra $100 for a thyroid test because they said his heart rate was far too high (almost 300) to be mere terror, but the result came back normal. Thanks, scaredy-cat Vic! He howled all the way home in the car but as soon as he was here, calmed down and went right back to normal. This is why we leave him here when we go on holiday and let the neighbours feed him; he's a cat of location and habit, whereas the girls are more people-oriented and would be so lonely they'd go looking for company.

We have liquid antibiotics and painkillers for him for the next week or so and I'm not looking forward to that. He's extremely difficult to dose, unlike the girls. It will take two of us and possibly a tightly wrapped towel.

Comments

[trixieleitz]

Welcome home, Vic!

I'm glad to hear he is more relaxed now, and has been spared a few indignities.

[vilakins]

Talking of indignities, we just had a wrestle with him to get his meds down him. It took several minutes and I'm not entirely sure how successful it was. He's very strong and really hard to hold. It will be tight towel time tomorrow. :-(

[trixieleitz]

Poor Vic :( I hope the towel calms him down a bit.

[snowgrouse.livejournal.com]

That's really great to hear. I'm glad the little guy is all right. <3

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

Not so little, but he's fine and over his fear now he's back.

[astrogirl2.livejournal.com]

Welcome back, Vic!

And my cats freak out like that at the vet, too.

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

He must be the worst since they thought his heart rate was a sign of serious illness even though I said he was just terrified.

I had to laugh at that XKCD strip since I say stupid things like that. I keep asking them questions as well as telling them things they already know, and they never answer.

[astrogirl2.livejournal.com]

I think everybody does that with cats, even when you're aware that it's silly. It's not pointless, though. They respond to the sound of your voice, not so much to what you're saying, anyway. :)

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

They do! Greg rang up to see how Vic was and he came inside because he could hear me talking. Phone conversations do attract them too.

[vandonovan.livejournal.com]

Awww, glad he's home safe. I bet Vila can symathize with the high heart rate from terror. He probably gets it just as bad as Vic. (Though not 300!)

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

Vila's OK if he has something to take his mind off it, which he didn't after S2. All he had to think about was the worst, and I bet he wondered at times if a heart attack would get him first. At least he has a fair chance of escape.

Man, I'm glad I don't have to lock Vic in. He's really not used to it.

[entropy-house.livejournal.com]

I'm so glad he got to come home and relax! *fingers crossed* that he's a bit easier to dose than you expect. I use the 'deathgrip at the nape of the neck' routine to remind them that they are kittens to my mother-cat image. Sometimes it works. :^)

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

The kitten grip doesn't work on bigger cats that well, but at least we have liquids to squirt into his mouth which is easier. With the girls, we just tip their heads right back so their jaws are weakened and pop the pills in and stroke their throats. They're pretty good with that. I've never even been able to worm Vic with a pill; he gets that done on vet visits and a treatment on the back of his neck otherwise.

[entropy-house.livejournal.com]

Some animals are just hard to dose, no matter what. Good luck!

I've used the kitten grip on good-size boycats successfully (after my brother told me he wasn't going to give his cat its meds because the cat was impossible). Maybe it worked because he wasn't used to me handling him.

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

It did not go well. He's so damned strong. We'll try a towel next time.

[luinielle.livejournal.com]

I'm glad he's home and without a collar. :o)

Our old Nikki earned herself the nickname 'Hell Cat' when it took three people at the vet's office to give her thyroid medicine. Good luck with Vic and I hope it won't be too big a battle to give him his meds.

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

Tessa was an absolute darling, but it was hard to get her to take a pill. She'd struggle and refuse to swallow till she foamed at the mouth from the bitterness. I found liquid meds easier with her and they will be with Vic too.

[ultrapsychobrat.livejournal.com]

I'm so glad Vic is home again. We always asked for pills, since the cats always foamed out any liquid. Not so with the dogs, who seem to like the liquid medicine they were given. Go figure!

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

See my comment above about Tessa! She held onto pills till they foamed; liquid was a lot easier. We've given Vic liquids in the past, but that was a while ago now and still not easy, though he did swallow them.

[elmey.livejournal.com]

Vic's home--good for him! And good luck to you trying to dose him. I have at times been reduced to grinding up pills into a spoonful of tune. Only works on the greedy ones though.

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

My lot always eat around the ground-up pills. I could add the meds to his soft food, but he doesn't always eat it all, It's better to get them directly into him and know he's had them. The label says "palatable" so here's hoping!

I just saw him go over the fence so he's obviously feeling OK. :-)

[sallymn.livejournal.com]

Poor darling, I'll bet he's happy to be home...

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

He is! I just saw him running about in the garden. :-) He might be less happy when he dose him, but he'll get over it.

[communicator.livejournal.com]

I bet he's so glad to be home and now he's all fixed up. Imagine thinking he had an over-active thyroid, and he was just being a scaredy-cat! Well, it all has a happy ending.

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

They just said it was way too high for being scared. It was 220 when we took him in to have his nose looked at, but almost 300 yesterday. I hope they put a note on his file. Perhaps he gets more nervous because we tamed him down from being feral.

[miss-next.livejournal.com]

Oh, I'm glad to hear he didn't need a collar!

Tightly wrapped towels are a very useful thing for dosing cats. It was the only way I ever managed to get any medication down poor old Chomsky, who was another scaredy-cat - he used to flail around in terror, and he was big. And surprisingly strong for a cat who was invariably beaten in play fights by his mentally tougher brother.

Good luck!

[hafren.livejournal.com]

Yay for Vic! Good luck with the dosing....

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

The first go did not go well. There will be a tight towel involved tomorrow morning.

[jhall1.livejournal.com]

I'm glad that the news is good.

he's a cat of location and habit

I can sympathise with him, being much the same (apart from the minor detail of not being a cat).

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

I think Greg's rather the same.

[imhilien.livejournal.com]

Am glad to hear Vic is home... good luck with the dosing.

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

It went better this morning because I wrapped him in a towel, but he's getting very mistrustful.

[emerald-happy.livejournal.com]

awww poor baby. Glad to know he's okay.

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

He seems pretty much back to normal! :-)

[kalypso-v.livejournal.com]

Very glad he's home, and feeling happier. Meanwhile, Tabitha has just finished her antibiotics course, and her tail is waving proudly again - she's just been making up to the joiner.

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

That's good to hear! Was she hard to dose? Vic's getting very wary and I had to catch him this morning because he was so suspicious of Greg.

[kalypso-v.livejournal.com]

Fortunately they're capsules of powder you mash into their food, and it seems to taste OK. I don't think I could get a pill down Tabitha's throat! The only problem is trying to make sure she eats the right plate of food, because if I feed them separately she suspects Rosie has something nicer and tries to swap. So I have to stand over them until they finish, and snatch plates away if either of them tries to eat from the wrong one.

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

I'd try that, but Claudia and Tessa wouldn't eat all of their food when there was something in it so they didn't get the full dose so I gave up on that. I think it's safer to administer it directly.

[kalypso-v.livejournal.com]

Luckily it seems to work quite well with Tabitha - though I've learned to give her a smaller portion than usual to make sure she gets through it while I've time to watch her.

[jaxomsride.livejournal.com]

Aww poor Vic.

Bribery works well.Before he's dosed, give him a treat. After he's been dosed, try giving a treat immediately as well. Whatever's his favourite. It might not stop him fighting but he will end up fighting less.

[jaxomsride.livejournal.com]

PS is the liquid administered in a dropper or oral syringe?

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

The painkiller's in a syringe, and the antibiotic in a dropper.

[jaxomsride.livejournal.com]

Aww poor Vic!
A syringe is easier for an unwilling cat. Quicker delivery and you can shoot it right to the back of the cat's mouth.

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

we're meant to put it under his tongue. but no chance. Getting it into his mouth is all we aim for. He's so strong he ripped the towel I had round him last night. Sigh. Another 3-4 days to go.

[jaxomsride.livejournal.com]

Aww poor Vic andpoor you, stressful for both of you.

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

He just runs away afterwards. We feed him earlier so he has something in his stomach, but wait a while to dose him because we don't want him to associate food with bad things. The girls will eat after being dosed, but not Vic; he's still got some wild traits. It takes two of us to deal with him, and we don't bother with pills or claw-clipping.